Hey, guys! I'm probably one of many that started looking at survival after 9/11. Anyway, I don't know if it's been mentioned before, but I've found an alternative for an Altoids tin for a PSK...Whitman's makes small gold-colored tins for their 1.75 oz. chocolate sampler. It is slightly more bulky than the Altoids tin, but I seem to be able to get more stuff in it than I could an Altoids tin. <br><br>I'm still quite new with kit assembly. Mine is primarily for an urban setting. I also carry a Photon Micro Loght II on my keys and a Leatherman Wave at all times. I'm a bit pressed for time to do a complete kit inventory, but among the items in there...<br><br>2 Jigsaw blades<br>Keychain size swiss army knife<br>"off-brand" LED flashlight<br>Pencil stub<br>paper<br>2 trick birthday candles<br>12 waterproof matches & striker<br>Mini Bic<br>length of twine<br>assorted safety pins<br>condom for water storage<br>water purification tablets<br><br>4 Band Aids<br>2 Neosporin packets<br>4 Pepto-Bismol chewables<br>8 Ibuprofen tablets<br><br>All this (and anything I may have overlooked) fits easily in the Whitman's Tin, with even a bit of room to spare!<br>I sealed the tin with electrical tape. Off the top of my head, one thing I would like to improve on is the paper - I could not find waterproof paper anywhere! Any suggestions on where I could look?<br><br>BTW....I work as a pharmacy technician...so if anyone has any pharmacy-related questions (relating to survival or otherwise) I'll do my best to answer them.

Noob,<br><br>Look for Rite in the Rain Paper from JL Darling Corporation.<br><br><br><br>You can usually find it in college bookstores or engineering supply houses. You can also order directly from them. Their introductory offer at $10 is a good start.<br><br>They make all sorts of notebooks and sheet paper suitable for printers. It is good stuff.

i replaced mine altoid tin with a large size tabaco tin ( 11x8x3 cm )....<br>my experians with Jigsaw blades is that they brake VERY VERY easly so, you may replace that one with a wiresaw, hacksaw, etc. And i would also suggest some sharp stuff for the tin like single edge razor blades, scalpels, small size folder, etc. since you only cary a wave with you.<br><br>btw how big is a altoids tin actually ( in cm or mm please ) in the US, the european version ( look different ) is 9.3 mm x 5.8 mm x 20 mm and has a arge like shape on the botom and the lid. And are altoid candy's round there pepermind like here or not?

Welcome to the forum Noob. I agree with PC about the jigsaw blades, these things break easily when used for the intended purpose much less by hand. However, since quite a few people refer to saber saws as jigsaws (popularized by Black & Decker) i'm not sure which you are packing. Saber saw blades are about .250 wide and a little over three inches long, small but quite durable when used by hand. Jig saw blades are .125 wide or less and five to six inches long and break when you look at them wrong, if you are using these i would also recommend trading them for a wire saw.

Thanks for the feedback, all. I'll have to try that Rite in the Rain online special. And apparently it is a "saber saw" blade I am packing, based on your description, RayW. But I can easily fit a wire saw in there as well.<br><br>I guess any PSK is a work in progress, with all the improvements made to gear. I used to think my mini Mag light was the coolest thing going until I bought my Photon! They are very hard to find around here in the sticks of Western North Carolina. I got mine in a small general store, and I've bought two there to give as gifts this Christmas.

The North American Altoids tin is roughly 2-5/16 x 3-11/16 inches, with a corner radius of about 1/2 inch. That's about 59 x 94 mm with 13 mm corner radius. That seems to be the same dimensions as you cited (assuming you put your decimal in the wrong place).<br><br>The candies themselves are round here, too.<br>

how about a flint and steel? Doug reviewed a couple of one handed ones a while ago. Or you could get a bcb style flint which comes with an artificial flint and a striker.

yup i got the decimal wrong...

I feel pretty secure with the Bic and the waterproof matches. However....the weather lately reminds me just how important a fire would be if stranded out somewhere (it feels like about 15 degrees now)!<br><br>BTW...the dimensions of my Whitman's Tin are about 3 1/2 in. by 2 3/4 in. by 1 inch. Or 89mm x 69mm x 28mm, if you prefer.

Your right about the photons, a couple of years ago i purchased a box (on-line) and gave them all away as Christmas gifts. And i still get comments from friends and family about the "cool little lights". BTW stay away from candlepowerforums.com or you will find out about a whole world of gee wiz lights that you won't be able to live without.